Hebrew Nuggets, Lesson 31: Righteousness

Hebrew Nuggets is an article series that introduces beginners to Hebrew letters, Hebrew vocabulary and spiritual insights from the Hebrew tradition.

The important Hebrew word צְדָקָה (tse·da·KAH, “righteousness,” “salvation”) will teach us how to pronounce and write the letters צָדִי (tsa·DI) and קוֹף (kof).

צ (tsa·DI) represents the Hebrew “ts” sound. tsa·DI is the 18th letter in the Hebrew alphabet. In our system of transliteration we represent the tsa·DI with “ts.” This sound occurs in English in words that have “ts” or “tz,” for example, in “its,” “quartz,” “pants,” “tsetse (fly).” The tsa·DI is one of five Hebrew letters that have a final form. These include final mem (ם), which we learned in Lesson 15, final kaf (ך), which we learned in Lesson 27, and final nun (ן), which we learned in Lesson 30. The final form of the צ (tsa·DI) is ץ. Now we can read words that end in tsa·DI such as אֶרֶץ (’E·rets, “land,” “country”).

• ^[1] To learn more about Jesus’ saying in Matt. 5:18, see David N. Bivin and Joshua N. Tilton, “The Significance of Jesus’ Words “Not One Jot or One Tittle Will Pass from the Law” (Matt. 5:18).” ↩